This invention relates to laying-up machines, and methods of laying-up elongate members, and in particular to machines for laying-up elongate members such as hoses, with or without electrical cores and other members.
Conventional laying-up machines require that the elongate members be initially wound onto bobbins before being mounted on the laying-up machines. The elongate members may be hoses, for example, which are of such a size and/or rigidity that bobbins of enormous size would be required to carry them and lay them up together with other such hoses, or electrical cable cores, or mechanical strength members, etc., using a conventional laying-up technique.
Hoses with such properties are used in umbilical cables in advanced saturation diving systems, which cables provide all the mechanical, electrical, and oxygen/helium facilities required by deep-sea divers.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a laying-up machine which does not require the components to be laid up together, to be initially wound onto bobbins.